Apple’s New AirTag: Longer Range, Easier to Find
▼ Summary
– Apple has released a new AirTag with enhanced findability, featuring a 50% louder speaker, a longer Bluetooth range, and Precision Finding that works from up to 50% farther away.
– The device is powered by Apple’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip and, for the first time, supports Precision Finding directly from compatible Apple Watch models.
– It integrates with a new iOS feature called Share Item Location, allowing users to securely share an item’s location with trusted third parties like airlines to aid recovery.
– The AirTag maintains strong privacy and security, with end-to-end encrypted location data and industry-leading protections against unwanted tracking.
– It is designed with environmental responsibility, using 85% recycled plastic and 100% recycled rare earth elements, and is available for $29 (single) or $99 (four-pack) with free engraving.
Apple has unveiled the next generation of its popular AirTag item tracker, introducing significant upgrades that make locating personal belongings faster and more reliable than ever. This new model builds upon the success of the original by offering an expanded Bluetooth connectivity range and a louder speaker, ensuring users can find their items even when they are farther away or buried under cushions. Available at the same price point as its predecessor, the updated AirTag integrates seamlessly with the Find My network and introduces new sharing capabilities designed for real-world scenarios like recovering delayed luggage.
The heart of the improved findability is Apple’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip. This advanced hardware enables enhanced Precision Finding, which now works from up to fifty percent farther away. The system provides intuitive haptic, visual, and audio feedback to guide users directly to their lost item. For the first time, this precise locating feature is also available on compatible Apple Watch models, bringing powerful finding tools right to the wrist. An upgraded Bluetooth chip further extends the general tracking range, while a redesigned internal speaker makes the AirTag fifty percent louder, allowing its distinctive new chime to be heard from twice the distance.
These improvements are powered by the vast Find My network, a secure, crowdsourced system of Apple devices that can help locate an AirTag when it’s out of its owner’s immediate Bluetooth range. A major new feature is Share Item Location, which allows users to temporarily and securely share an item’s location with trusted parties, such as airline customer service teams. Apple has partnered with over fifty airlines to adopt this system. Early data indicates this innovation has dramatically improved baggage handling, reducing delays by twenty-six percent and cutting the rate of permanently lost luggage by a staggering ninety percent. Access is tightly controlled and automatically expires, ensuring user privacy.
Privacy and security remain foundational. The AirTag is engineered so that no location data or history is stored on the device itself. All communication with the Find My network is protected by end-to-end encryption, meaning only the item’s owner can see where it is. The device includes a suite of industry-leading protections against unwanted tracking, featuring cross-platform alerts and frequently changing Bluetooth identifiers. It is designed exclusively for tracking items, not people or pets.
Apple has also focused on environmental responsibility with this update. The new AirTag incorporates eighty-five percent recycled plastic in its enclosure and uses one hundred percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets. The packaging is fully fiber-based. Despite these internal advancements, the form factor remains unchanged, ensuring compatibility with all existing AirTag accessories, like the FineWoven Key Ring made from sixty-eight percent recycled content.
The new AirTag is available for order immediately. It maintains the accessible pricing of twenty-nine dollars for a single tag and ninety-nine dollars for a pack of four, with free personalized engraving offered through Apple’s online storefronts.
(Source: Apple.com)
